Big Brother next door? Most of UK’s 6 million CCTV cameras are privately owned

There are 70 times more privately owned surveillance cameras in the UK than government ones, a new study has revealed. The research found that Britain has a total of 5.9 million cameras and called for better regulation of privately owned devices.

Some 70,000 cameras run by the British police and authorities
make “perhaps only 1.2 to 1.7 per cent” of the overall
number of CCTV cameras in the UK, the study reads. The research
was conducted for the British Security Industry Association
(BSIA), according to the Evening Standard.

The study claims to “represent one of the most comprehensive
attempts to assess the extent of CCTV use” and uses
“complex calculations” based on available information.
Calculations are made regarding the number of different types of
property using surveillance cameras, average floor areas, and
other data.

There are between 4.1 million and just over 5.9 million cameras
in Britain, the BSIA study says, stressing that an exact number
is impossible to determine. Previous reports dating back to 2006
and 2011 estimated the number to be as large as 4.2 million and
as little as 1.85 million.

According to the research, cameras that are in public control
include more than 10,000 CCTV units installed by the police and
some 60,000 more controlled by local authorities across Britain.

The London Tube network alone has 13,000 cameras, with an average
of 52 cameras per station. The study estimates that between
290,000 and 370,000 cameras are run by state schools.

But the majority of surveillance cameras in Britain are privately
owned. The study claims that some 2.7 million CCTV cameras are
owned by private businesses and individuals.

The research found that the reasons surrounding the use of
private cameras include the protection of property, crime
detection, and safety.

The study’s conclusions challenge the UK’s popular image as a
“Big Brother” state, claiming that such notions are
“misplaced.” Instead, its authors believe the lack of
regulation governing privately run cameras is a bigger concern
for Britain, and have called for establishing rules to enforce
“better standards.”

But the overall number of cameras is likely to stir the heated
debate surrounding the UK’s so-called “surveillance
society,” just one year after the Protection of Freedoms Act
was imposed and days after the introduction of a surveillance
code of practice for public CCTV systems. Both legislations
include the regulation of state cameras.

There are currently no rules governing the use of private CCTV
cameras. However, surveillance camera commissioner Andrew
Rennison recently hinted that the government may have to address
the growing trend of homeowners setting up CCTV systems on their
properties. Private surveillance cameras can cause “upset”
to neighbors, Rennison told The Daily Telegraph.

Although the commissioner believes that people install cameras
for “very good reasons,” he also said he is expecting to
receive more “complaints from people about inappropriate use of
CCTV.” He said that the highest number of complaints comes from
people whose neighbors use private surveillance systems.

It is “an area where people do want further advice,”
Rennison said, promising to publish information on the matter.

But any government attempt to regulate CCTV cameras in and
outside of private homes in Britain would likely face opposition
from campaigners who claim the devices are an important part of
crime prevention.